La peste

Character development, cinematography, location, plot development, and realism ... can't see how it could be improved. You can almost smell the surroundings. Awesome and gruesome with a taste of the past so overlooked with nostalgic fondness. Not for the faint hearted.

The evocation of 16C Seville is incredible and without a vast amount of special effects, you feel all the rhythms of the city, a long with its finery, stench and hypocrisy. It doesn't pull any punches and the rigid strata of society with their inflexible norms and to the sense of claustrophobia. The plotting is tight and the characters beautifully drawn. None is a saint but neither are they pure sinners; just people trying to get by. Gorgeous filmography completes the picture. Unmissable.

Dark, dense, painfully realistic. If you know Seville a little bit, it will be , like a time travel. Anyway, you may expect a time travel and not for too sensitive watchers. It is the most expensive Spanish series and watching the accuracy in depicting the XVI century city, you realize , the money are not waste. Do not expect lavish, sweet renaissance decorations saw in BBC Borgias or Tudors. On the contrary, you may appreciate the picturesque depiction of deepest poverty, cruelty, city slums and social constitution in the post medieval city struck by the plague. From visual point of view it is impeccable. The careful watchers will find the real interiors of the Sevillian Casa de Pilates and Palacio Lebrija. The view from the riverside , La Giralda, and The Cathedral are simply real, may be with some extra touch of graphic artists. The other Spanish cities and monuments were also included. Actors are great, very well cast (my oppinion), and convincing. As far as writing, it is a surprising crime drama. Pleasure to watch. I am wating for the next season.

Why is this serie not on the main streaming platforms ? It is an absolut masterpiece and should be avalaible everywhere. Dark historical drama, a spanish historical kind of The wire style investigation in Seville during black plague times. A must watch!

This Spanish series is set in sixteenth century Seville when an outbreak of the bubonic plague has caused the city to be closed; much to the consternation of merchants involved in trade with the Spanish colonies in the New World. If concerns about illness weren't enough there have been a series of murders; Mateo Núñez, a former soldier who has returned to Seville to find the son of a friend despite being condemned by the inquisition for printing heretical works, is told he will be spared if he investigates the crimes.

If you like your historical dramas sanitised with healthy looking characters then this isn't for you. Even without the omnipresent threat of the plague most of the story is set in dark, filthy back alleys where violence could lurk around any corner. I confess that I found the story a little confusing at times but as it reached its conclusion it really came together and we get a solid conclusion. There are some fairly disturbing scene; including the sight of people being burnt at the stake. The cast does an impressive job, making us believe in their characters. Overall I'd recommend this to fans of historical dramas that don't sugar-coat the past.

These comments are based on watching the series in Spanish with English subtitles.